TAIPEI, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Taiwan's Foxconn, the world's

largest contract electronics maker, posted a forecast-beating

17% rise in third-quarter profit on Wednesday, fuelled by the

sustained strength in demand for AI servers that it expects to

drive growth next year too.

Net profit for the July-September period for Nvidia's ( NVDA )

biggest server maker and Apple's ( AAPL ) top iPhone

assembler was T$57.67 billion ($1.89 billion), higher than the

consensus estimate of T$50.4 billion compiled by LSEG.

Foxconn, formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry ( HNHPF ), last

month reported a forecast-beating third-quarter revenue on

strong demand for AI products.

In its earnings report, Foxconn said it should see

significant year-on-year revenue growth in the fourth quarter,

with AI server revenue expected to increase quarter-on-quarter.

In the third quarter, revenue for its cloud and networking

business, which includes AI servers, exceeded that from smart

consumer electronics - such as iPhones - for the second quarter

in a row.

For its full-year revenue, it also forecast significant

year-on-year growth, in line with previous guidance given in

August. It did not elaborate and the company does not provide

numerical guidance for its outlook, whether full-year or

quarterly.

Most of the iPhones Foxconn makes for Apple ( AAPL ) are assembled in

China, but the bulk of those sold in the United States are now

produced in India. The company is also building factories in

Mexico and Texas to make AI servers for Nvidia ( NVDA ).

Foxconn has also been looking to expand its footprint in

electric vehicles, which the company sees as a major future

growth generator, though that has not always gone smoothly.

In August, Foxconn said it had struck a deal to sell a

former car factory at Lordstown, Ohio, for $375 million,

including its machinery, that it purchased in 2022 to

manufacture EVs.

Foxconn's shares have surged 36% so far this year,

outperforming the broader Taiwan index's 21% gain.

Its shares closed up 1.8% on Wednesday ahead of the earnings

release.

($1 = 30.5930 Taiwan dollars)

(Reporting by Wen-Yee Lee and Ben Blanchard; Editing by

Muralikumar Anantharaman)